I apologize in advance. Actually, it’s too late for that. If I was going to do that, the apology should come BEFORE the video embed. So I apologize for the late advance apology, for the awkwardness of this apology, and for the video you may have just watched without the comfort of a preemptive apology. I may apologize for more things later. This isn’t very organized. I’m sorry.

This episode is one hour and eleven minutes long. By Crom that is ridiculous. As Josh said in the YouTube notes:

The very first episode of Spoiler Warning ever published, now finally available on Youtube in the aftermath of Viddler’s self-inflicted and ever-so-deserved financial suicide. Featuring 480p, awkward commentary, more awkward jokes, terrible audio, lawful-good gameplay, and the ever-elusive not-the-baseball-player-Randy Johnson. This episode is extremely… odd – and bad, by our current standards. But it was the first step we took on the long road of establishing the Spoiler Warning formula.

I still get a pang of nostalgia when I hear that music at the opening. I’d love to play the trilogy suggested by this first game.

For a fun diversion, look up videos on Youtube that are either related to world history, or show some kind of animal violence (for example a pet snake being fed a mouse) and read the comments. Chance of shitstorm approaches 1.

If you are disappointed, you can easily start your own! In either case, just say “ha ha deserved it” or “typical american”.

Ok,let me be the first to say “It gets good later on,if you manage to suffer through the painful opening”.

“I'd love to play the trilogy suggested by this first game.”

*sigh*me too.So many disappointing starts.Fahrenheit,mass effect…I hate it when something hooks me early on only to turn to shit.Exposition dump given by your character,dialogue wheel with more than 2 choices,why,just whyyy*sobs*

Yeah. I just adore Mass Effect 1, despite all it’s flaws. The universe was just so interesting and well presented that it just pulled me in and let my suspension of disbelief cover any bumps I may have encountered on the way.

And the music was great too, and the Vigil/Main Menu theme is one of my favorite compositions from…anything. When it was played over that mess of an epilogue at the end of Mass Effect 3, I just felt insulted.

Thats a really flawed reasoning there.Why praise any movie when the books have already told those stories much more verbosely?Why praise any painting,when sculptures did it in 3d?Why praise any song when prose does it with less limits?

Because we are talking about the quality of the universe that Mass Effect presents, something not defined purely by the medium (only the means of delivery). Mass Effect’s universe is fine, sure, but it’s neither very original nor is it very thematically complex compared to most of the sources it apes.

Any random episode of Farscape has better writing, more effective characterization and more interesting setting and lore than Mass Effect does. I think it’s worth holding it to such standards. And if you want original sci-fi videogame universes… Deus Ex, System Shock, Anachronox, and others generally have it outmatched.

But once again, BioWare get a pass because they’re “all about excellent story and characters and writing”, a fact that marketing is all too happy to constantly reinforce, such that people tend to accept blindly – it took them creating one of the worst stories and endings in the history of videogames for almost *anyone* to notice that maybe that “BioWare legacy” isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

It doesnt get a pass from me.Ive slammed on first nwn way back when everyone was praising it.And really,”you like it just because X made it” is such a flawed argument.

The medium is very important for the setting.The way the universe is presented in godfather book is way different from how it is presented in godfather movie,yet both are the same universe.

And how exactly have deus ex and system shock* outmatched mass effects setting?One deals with cybernetically enhanced humans in a cyberpunk world,the other with a rouge ai in a space station.How are those comparable with a game about interstellar travel and extraterrestrial species?Sure,they may share some themes,but so what?Two works can share same themes,yet do it in completely different ways.Just compare spec ops and modern warfare:same themes,presented in completely different fashions,thus leading to completely different experiences.

You didnt find it interesting,and thats completely ok.Different people have different tastes.But to say how it has absolutely no merit just because you dont like it?I would never say that about nwn,even though I really dislike that game.

Do I recognize the flaws in me1?Yes I do.Do I care about them?No,because the good outweighs the bad for me.Unlike in me2 where the bad outweighs the good,and me3 where the bad REALLY outweighs the good.Do I think that other games did some things better than me1?Definitely,both deus ex and system shock like youve mentioned,then master of orion,starcraft,alpha centauri and many others.But even with all of that,I still find the universe of me1 interesting and unique.I can give you a list of what I like in me1,but it will only go to prove that you and I dont have the exact same taste.You wont suddenly see the game as I see it.

Don’t get me wrong I love Farscape myself but saying something like any random episode of it includes better lore than Mass Effect is stupid. Not to mention disrespectful to codex writers.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKZBqdADz1k

For all Shamus talks about this series being weak, I’m enjoying the constant sarcasm and nitpicking. Mass Effect is so much more fun in retrospect, pointing out its every little flaw without actually having to suffer playing it.

It’s not that bad! I enjoyed the episode – ok, it may have been a bit rough compared to more recent efforts, but the chat was still entertaining.
The series also made me give up my boycott over the DRM requiring on-line registration. The fun (and later chaos) that the team had caused me to get he game.
Also, I am getting the urge to start another visit to the ME1 universe. Must resist… too many other things I should be doing!

Not really tied to this replay of first season:
You should definitely play walking dead after me3.It should be fully out by then,its short enough to get to other games quickly,and most importantly its a perfect contrast with how me3 does choices.

Also,80% of the players killed the kid themselves?That means that 80% of the walking dead players have gone through little lamplight.

L’Etoile also has a very good blog post where he talks about the kind of ‘leave Earth behind’ mentality to space exploration that he wanted to evoke. (Seems like the infamous Hudson&Walters duo didn’t take to that so kindly, eh?)

Wow, the guy really does know his stuff. I wonder what would’ve happened if he’d been allowed to continue directing the series? If he’d decided to mirror the plot of FreeSpace 2 then we’d have some minor conflicts within known space, then some triumphant and ultimately-superficial victories over the Reapers followed by them attacking a populated system in force resulting in a frantic attempt to hold them off and seal them there culminating in the star going supernova, uh….

Man, the first article really reminded me of why I loved exploring in the Mako. I’d just go to some alien world, devoid of atmosphere, orbiting a red supergiant. I’d got to the tallest peak I could find, get out of the vehicle, and just stare out into space. Its long been my life’s dream to be able to do just that, and knowing that the closest I’ll ever get to actually doing it is in a videogame…It kind of left a giant hole in my heart.

That feeling is exactly why I had no problems going on every single boring side mission I could find. Sure every single non-main planet was a reskinned, recolored carbon copy of the one next to it, but there was enough difference to sell me on the idea of visiting a variety of untouched alien wastelands. The skyboxes were amazing too; the skyboxes in Mass Effect 3 were terrible by comparison.

After reading this I’m starting to think that the duality of the first game’s major/better writers is what helped the game seem so full. Drew Karphyshyn had a very idealistic interpretation of the future, while L’Etoile was much more cynical in regards to the typical ‘Star Trek’ utopianism. The two sides managed to balance themselves out to a comfortable middle ground.

It is very interesting to see the implication that there were writer conflicts even in the first game. That does explain why ME2 and 3 diverged so much; when the first story is the result of two or more writers who didn’t agree on stuff and had their own dissimilar visions of the entire tone – *and* they both left – then it is clear how the followups would be an absolute mess.

I do wonder, though, how Bioware’s execs are feeling about SWTOR. By the sound of these blog articles, well, it’s yet another confirmation on how pooling resources into that MMO from their other games resulted in the loss of, well, quality.

Very interesting read, and explains the nature of the Reapers as they were presented in the first game (i.e. slightly more personable Shivans) and the emphasis on worldbuilding and how humanity was simply one part of the greater whole in a new and unexplored universe…

I know it’s liable to get me keelhauled around here, but I didn’t like ME1 that much. I found the combat to be somewhat clunky, I HATED the fucking Mako, and all of the sidequests were tedious and repetitive. Also, it committed the cardinal sin of videogames and had UNSKIPPABLE CUTSCENES. Including RIGHT BEFORE DIFFICULT BOSS BATTLES. The fight with Benezia was particularly bad in this regard.

Then ME2 came out. The combat in the game is much smoother. There’s no Mako. There are NO FUCKING UNSKIPPABLE CUTSCENES. The game just felt better, gameplay-wise. Yeah ME2’s main plot was crap. But you spend most of the game recruiting your party and doing their loyalty missions, which generally have very little to do with the main plot and instead focus on the very well-written cast (Miranda and Jacob don’t count).

In retrospect? Yeah, ME1’s writing was fantastic. But I have a hard time appreciating good writing in a game if I’m not enjoying the gameplay. And to me, ME1 always felt like a slog. On subsequent replays, I skipped all of the sidequest content and stuck to the main storyline, which improved it significantly, but made the game quite short, and caused me to miss out on a lot of the interesting side-stories (Shamus recently recalled the “I Remember Me” quest, which I don’t think I ever found.)

I don’t disagree with any of this. But here’s the REALLY bitter pill for me:

BioWare was obviously chasing the shooter market in ME2. Their focus changed. This resulted in tighter mechanics, and MUCH worse story. It’s entirely possible that if they hadn’t made those internal staffing changes, we would have gotten great story and horrible mechanics. This is to say, perhaps there was never a possible outcome where we got a game that was good at both.

I have to say, the controls are tighter in 2 and 3, but the mechanics of combat feel shallower. Also, the Mako handles horribly, but I think the open big areas added something to the game. I will always remember that ME1 would let you use a sniper rifle like a sniper rifle, from a thousand meters away.

And call me entitled, but I want to know: why in heaven’s name can’t we get gameplay mechanics and good writing? They are throwing how much money at making these games? Seriously, no one in their right mind would give GM a pass if their cars had great handling but incredibly uncomfortable seats. Or GE a pass if their blender could chop like no other, but couldn’t puree worth beans.

EA and BioWare shouldn’t get a pass either.

Though for what it’s worth, I rather liked the shooting mechanics of the first game. But I’m the kind of person who would sneak all around the rim of a valley looking for good shots with the sniper rifle, so… yeah.

ME2 and 3 clunky in comparison to HR and Spec Ops? Really? Both of those are supposed to have relatively lackluster mechanics IIRC. I’ve very rarely had that many problems with ME2, and certainly not with ME3. I guess it’s cause I’ve played enough of them that I understand the system’s quirks rather intimately…

Mass Effect has the problem where commander Shepard won’t PUT HIS HEAD DOWN when in cover, so he sometimes takes damage. Then there’s the vault / enter cover / exit cover / sprint / use item / revive teammate all being bound to the same key. Then there’s the idiotic [lack of] logic where it enters cover by choosing the most inappropriate surface. (Example: Taking cover against the surface I’m closest to and which is exposed to the enemy, instead to the one I’m facing and running towards which is useful to me.)

In Spec Ops, the mechanics were very polished. The interface felt right and let me fight the enemy instead of fighting the controls.

Now, you might argue that we should give ME2+ a few points because it had a bunch of special abilities. The Spec Ops mechanics were simple, but polished. The mechanics in ME2+ were ambitious, but clunky and frustrating. I can understand preferring the more interesting ME2+ mechanics, but I don’t want to let BioWare off the hook for neglecting core concepts.

I honestly never had much problem with the combat in ME1, i would just roll up with a shotgun and blast away…no cover. Honestly i find ME2 more of a slog as a solider the game is only fun for me as a vanguard or a infiltrator. They did a good job mixing it up for 2+3, but the base gameplay was still pretty clunky.

I liked the mako,though it sure couldve used some improving.What really pissed me off in 2 is that instead of improving what was already there,they simply removed it and tried something new.In some cases,it worked(I liked how you could focus more on your powers in combat),but in some cases it failed horribly,like the probing.And that really bothers me with many sequels.Instead of trying to fix what is interesting but broken,the developers simply throw it out and try something new,that is usually just as broken,and often not nearly as interesting(yes,Im still bitter about heroes of might and magic 5,even after all these years).

I have always loved that song. Forget the “Mass Effect theme”, this is the song that is just Mass Effect to me. Exploring new worlds, flying all around the galaxy, all that good stuff.

Also probably just I’m used to it because I had to listen to it about every ten minutes in-game!

(on a side note, this piece of music is what got me to play Mass Effect 2, not even joking. I was so depressed at the beginning–my crew was gone, my original ship was gone, I had this annoying AI to deal with, I had this obnoxious catsuited chick bothering me… and then I opened up the galaxy map and heard the same music and was like “well… maybe I’m over-exaggerating here.”

Hey I finally get to watch the second half of season 1, and by half I mean the right half of the screen, watched all of season 1 when you started ME3 but viddler shifted the screen to the right so only half the screen was visible, not sure if anyone else had this problem, but it definitely isn’t good advertisement for a site that just added required payments.

Honestly I didn’t think season one was bad, a little jarring with Josh being the one geared towards being nice. Also agree this season had me hopeful for ME2/3, sadly I was let down, this could have been a great series.

Project Eternity is an isometric, party-based RPG set in a new fantasy world developed by Obsidian Entertainment.[…]

Project Eternity will take the central hero, memorable companions and the epic exploration of Baldur's Gate, add in the fun, intense combat and dungeon diving of Icewind Dale, and tie it all together with the emotional writing and mature thematic exploration of Planescape: Torment.

Aha, so that’s the story behind the name of “Conan”. Good — back then I thought it was after some book or film character so I felt I were missing something. Appears I weren’t, and the episode isn’t bad; just as the game isn’t bad, compared to its sequels.

I played the trilogy suggested by this first game. It was good in the main but the side elements left a lot to be desired, then it got better in the side elements while the main was sub-par, then it produced the best game I’ve played since the original KOTOR.

throughout the games, the renegade option gets increasingly evil until he’s just executing his teammates while they’re on their knees, with Legion you even get the option fire repeatedly into his face.
some of the options were quite funny at first, cutting off the council and punching a reporter never gets old, especially when she’s ready for it in number three. but just count how many times through the games he resorts to random murder in increasingly unjustified circumstances.

Yeah, ME1’s music has a real science-fiction, future-y feel to it. The opening cutscene once you’ve created your character pretty much set the scene for the entire game. I particularly love the way the music slowly builds and swells as the words “MASS EFFECT” come onto the screen. Perfect composing. :)

Clint Mansell is good too, but there was something lacking in the ME3 soundtrack that the ME1 and 2 games had…

Good old Season One. I’d been reading Twenty Sided for a while, but ignoring the Spoiler Warning series. Why would I want to watch these ‘Let’s Play’ things when I could just play myself? When the Fallout 3 season started, I decided to give SW a try, starting from Mass Effect, and that turned out to an extremely good move – every season has provided a ridiculous amount of fun. I’d like to thank the crew once again for all the happy memories SW has provided, and will continue to provide. SW is the reason I started making my own LPs as well, so thanks for all the fun I’ve had doing those, too. :D

I do thank Spoiler Warning for both giving me tons of entertainment and really bringing me into the Twenty Sided community. I came to the site after seeing some of the stuff Shamus wrote on the Escapist, then I saw Spoiler Warning and decided to check it out. My only regret is not knowing about the show sooner. I came in when the Fallout: New Vegas season was nearing it’s end.

Without this show, I would have never started thinking about games critically and start blogging about them, something I have come to enjoy. I would also never have met many of the people I have come to consider good friends.

What I wish is that games had sliders that had names which made sense. I mean, to take an example from Saints Row 3, “Mouth Style”. Took me forever to figure out that what that MEANT was “amount of collagen in the lips”.

Really, though, ones like ‘eye shape’ and ‘hair colour’ shouldn’t be sliders. They should be sets of selectable icons, since the options are drastically different and not a simple continuum.
And you should be able to freely rotate the head, all the way to 2Ï€ around! Limited viewpoints are very annoying :mildly irked:

Most “sliders” that control things like eye shape and color aren’t really sliders, they have pre-defined spots that are specific choices – they don’t change gradually. So functionally they’re the same as selectable icons except you can’t see what you’re selecting.

Which is precisely why I said “They should be sets of selectable icons, since the options are drastically different and not a simple continuum.” :Or is ‘repeating what I said’ some sort of joke that I’m missing?